Can someone guide me to 'bend' maple branch to make a cane ?

[hawkeye54]

My lady has mobility issues, and often uses a cane to walk. My neighbor took down a maple tree, and I secured a branch / limb piece about 4 feet long and approximately 2 inch diameter ( the bark is still on and the ends are painted ) . I would like to make a custom cane, shaped somewhat like a Christmas candy cane, but am not sure how to bend one end into shape. Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated.




Rick

[stromborg]

Make a jig and steam it? Best do it now while the wood is still green. A "live edge: cane sounds like a cool idea.

[stromborg]

Or you skip the steamer, give thanks to Prometheus and go Greek:

[Paul Pless]

i might be inclined to boil the end to be bent

[hawkeye54]

All great ideas - thanks - I will keep monitoring for new ideas. . .

[Mrleft88]

Generally this bend is best made while the branch is still on the tree, and alive. Next best is to steam it with lots of steam that is just barely over 212f. Too much heat will cook the wood. You can also try putting fabric softener in the boiling water/steam. Fabric softener is basically a sort of wax that may help the individual layers of lignin/cellulose slip by each other.
I used fabric softener on a difficult bend about 40 years ago, and it definitely helped VS. steaming w/o fabric softener. Since then I've mostly resorted to laminating difficult bends.

[TerryLL]

I regularly bend rock maple for some of the products I make and I've found that boiling is the way to go. There's a zillion different maple species native to the US and many others planted as ornamentals. They don't all bend alike.

[jpatrick]

Whichever method is used, the branch should be pared down to near its final diameter prior to bending. Trying to do a 180º bend in 2" diameter stock might prove daunting.

Jeff

[P.I. Stazzer-Newt]

[Canoeyawl]

Take a look at this video for the "jig" that he uses, not the heating method which is less important.
(This fellow "Eye in Hand" was a member here for a while, but may have wandered into the bilge... )

[sp_clark]

Thonet mostly used/uses beechwood. Works well for bending when steamed.

Given the number of different members of the Acer family it's hard to predict what you'll have to go through to bend 2" green stock to much less of a radius of 10" or more if it's even possible.

For your walking stick project, something closer to 1 or 1-1/4" ought to work to a tighter radius, maybe 5 - 6". 3/4" to 1" ought to work to something tighter.

Use some kind of metal support along the outside as you increase the radius as shown in that Youtube video, keeps tension on the outer layers to prevent splits from getting started.

[Mrleft88]

Really might be better to find a straight staff with a "T" and work it out of that.... The umbrella "J" cane thing doesn't work all that well anyway.

[Ron Williamson]

It would be easier to bend a longer piece into a U,then cut it into a J.
R

[hawkeye54]

Still 'tracking' all the recommendations - thanks - - - - What is the best idea for cleanly reducing the diameter from , say, 1-3/4 " with bark on down to 1" 1-1/4" without bark ?




Rick

[Oldad]

split it along its length to get to the diameter you want. This will avoid grain run out.

[gray duck]

Re: #14, I think a draw knife does this job the best but you can whittle it off with a blade

[Dave Hadfield]

I'm guessing the Greek guy is using a thorn tree of some kind, right?

I notice he got some split-out around the bend.